Any ideas on how to make a toddler bed canopy?

[tricot39]

Hi
I don't come to this part of mumsnet very often but have lurked in the past!
Can anyone help with ideas?
DS is not keen on his new toddler bed and I have some glow-in-the-dark stars fabric that I got a while back that I would like to make into a canopy to make his bed a bit more snug. It is 700mm wide and 1600mm long.
I started looking at tent poles to make a curved shape with ties between feet hidden below the mattress but it gets complicated and costly quite quickly.
Anyone got any inspiration for me?
We don't have a lot of headroom so I was hoping not to have to make a stand up wooden frame.
Thanks!

No help whatsoever I'm afraid but will lurk as I've been wanting to do something similar but could only think of an IKEA hang from the ceiling type of one.

Come on clever people!

Is the bed in a corner?

Could you get two bits of MDF at right angles, padded with foam with the star fabric on top?

You could stick on a picture of a rocket, maybe a toy (knitted?) alien dangling over his head?

Hope he likes space

are you thinking something like this? As you can make this from an old tent. You need the keys [as I call them] the bit the carbon fibre rods pop into to make the frame solid. If you then brace and screw the key's on a piece of 2x4 and then screw this to the bed frame, that'd give you a canopy.

I've also seen them made with a hula hoop and triangles of fabric knotted on, narrow end tied onto the hula hoop, and the width flares out to either side of the bed. ignore the fairy princess theme

My mum made a very basic one for me. two curtain poles attached to the ceiling, one at the head and one at the foot, mum made tab top curtains, looped them on the pole at the foot of the bed and then over the pole at the top, so it flows down behind the head of the bed. kinda like this

Thanks for the replies!
The ikea tent is what I had in mind and I had been googling tent poles and then thinking it was all too tricky/expensive...... but the hula hoop idea could work.....if slightly differently to the way you thought! Why not use hula hoops as tent poles to make an ikea-like tent?

If I get say some wide bias binding and use that to make a place to hold a tent pole (a cut down hula hoop) but keep that hoop as a continuous loop so that it ties the feet at the base. Then (stick with me) I can put that strip under the bed slats to hold it in place. If it is looking a bit loose I can screw the binding to the wooden bed frame.

Right I will give it a go and come back to post some pics.
Wish me luck.

This thread has also reminded me that I am still to finish of the DCs felt advent calendar that I started last year knowing that it was a mega-project that would take a year!

Could you buy one of the Ikea ones and tack the star fabric to the underside? It sounds super cool though!

I made this tent with a hula hoop. The style wouldn't suit what you want, but the idea of cutting the hoop might help.

You cld use it to make pillows or a duvet cover? Make home want to jump into the bed?

Ok so i went for ribbon instead of bias binding and have some nice lightweight linen (only £2/m bargain!) but who knew it would be so difficult to buy a hula hoop on the high street?! I would rather not buy online due to excess postage and having to wait for it to arrive. Anyone know where i can get a 30" or 760mm one?

Argos? This doesn't seem to be widely stocked.

You might object to paying 13 quid for the Davina one (Which is too big for your purpose anyway).

My dad used to make our hula hoops from hose pipe . have you any in your garden ?

Hhm hose pipe might be an idea.... I was thinking about strengthening the ends of the hula hoop with dowel as Queenmaeve suggested so it might work..... thanks - I am off to have a rethink

Right. Well hula hoops are like fllipping gold dust! So we are going with 15mm hdpe plastic push fit plumbing pipe from wickes... tomorrow will be assembly day!

Argos sell hula hoops.

Have fun and I hop ds loves the canopy

hi
it has been a busy afternoon but the tent is done and the occupant seems fairly keen.
we will wait and see whether he is prepared to sleep in it!
it would be a first!
anyway the photos are on my profile page.
probably needs a bit of fine tuning/shorter poles but not bad for an afternoon project.

I can't open your profile to see photos.

Love it. The pipes worked really well . If they move then Something like this will hold them steady.

Oh pipe clips. Good idea! On that bed there is a snug fit with the mattresse squashing the pipe to the frame but that would be ideal for a looser fitting mattress. DS still not sleeping in it though!
Oh well!